ENDEAVOR ANNOUNCES CLOSE OF UFC® AND WWE® TRANSACTION TO
CREATE TKO GROUP HOLDINGS, A PREMIUM SPORTS AND
ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY
New Company to Begin Trading Today, September 12, on the
New York Stock Exchange Under “TKO” Ticker Symbol
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. & STAMFORD, Conn. (September 12, 2023)
– Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR) (“Endeavor”) and
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (previously NYSE: WWE)
(“WWE”) today announced the close of their previously
announced agreement and the launch of TKO Group Holdings,
Inc. (NYSE: TKO) (“TKO”).
TKO brings together UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial
arts organization, and WWE, an integrated media organization
and the recognized global leader in sports entertainment, to
create a new premium sports and entertainment company
serving more than one billion young and diverse fans1,
reaching viewers in 180 countries, and producing more than
350 annual live events. Through this combination, TKO will
leverage Endeavor’s expertise in areas including domestic
and international media rights, ticket sales and yield
optimization, event operations, global partnerships,
licensing, and premium hospitality to drive revenue growth.
“The creation of TKO marks an exciting new chapter for UFC
and WWE as leaders in global sports and entertainment,” said
Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor and TKO. “Given their
continued connectivity to the Endeavor network, we are
confident in our ability to accelerate their respective
growth and unlock long-term sustainable value for
shareholders. With UFC and WWE under one roof, we will
provide unrivaled experiences for more than a billion
passionate fans worldwide.”
“This is the culmination of a decades-long partnership
between Endeavor and WWE across strategic initiatives
including talent representation and media rights. Given our
collaborative, trusted relationship and Endeavor’s
incredible track record of success growing UFC, we believe
WWE is optimally positioned for future growth and success as
part of TKO,” said Vince McMahon, Executive Chairman of TKO.
“Our focus remains on delivering for our fans across the
globe as we take the business to the next level alongside
UFC and Endeavor.”
TKO will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange
under the ticker symbol “TKO,” with Endeavor holding a 51%
controlling interest in the new company and existing WWE
shareholders holding a 49% interest in the new company, on a
fully diluted basis.
Leadership Team
As previously announced, TKO is led by:
Ariel Emanuel, Chief Executive Officer, who continues as
Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor;
Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Operating Officer, who
continues as President and Chief Operating Officer of
Endeavor;
Andrew Schleimer, Chief Financial Officer; and
Seth Krauss, Chief Legal Officer, who continues as Chief
Legal Officer of Endeavor.
Dana White is now Chief Executive Officer of UFC and
Lawrence Epstein remains Senior Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer of UFC. Nick Khan continues at WWE
in the role of President.
The Board of Directors of TKO is led by Vince McMahon as
Executive Chairman of the Board and consists of 11 members,
including Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Shapiro, and Mr. Khan, in
addition to the following directors:
Peter C.B. Bynoe, Senior Advisor at DLA Piper LLP;
Egon P. Durban, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Silver Lake;
Steven R. Koonin, Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta
Hawks, LLC;
Jonathan A. Kraft, President of the Kraft Group LLC;
Sonya E. Medina, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Reach Resilience;
Nancy R. Tellem, Executive Chairperson and Chief Media
Officer of Eko; and
Carrie Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer and a board member
of Opendoor Technologies Inc.
Advisors
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served
as financial advisors to Endeavor, Latham & Watkins LLP
served as legal advisor to Endeavor, and Alvarez & Marsal
served as integration advisor to Endeavor. The Raine Group
served as lead financial advisor to WWE. J.P. Morgan and
Moelis & Company LLC served as financial advisors to WWE.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal
advisor to WWE, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal
advisor to WWE’s controlling stockholder, McMahon.
# # #
About Endeavor
Endeavor (NYSE: EDR) is a global sports and entertainment
company, home to many of the world’s most dynamic and
engaging storytellers, brands, live events and experiences.
The company is comprised of industry leaders including
entertainment agency WME; and sports, fashion, events and
media company IMG. Endeavor is also the majority owner of
TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and
entertainment company comprising UFC and WWE. The Endeavor
network specializes in talent representation, sports
operations & advisory, event & experiences management, media
production & distribution, experiential marketing and brand
licensing.
About TKO
TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and
entertainment company that comprises UFC, the world’s
premier mixed martial arts organization, and WWE, an
integrated media organization and the recognized global
leader in sports entertainment. Together, our organizations
reach more than 1 billion TV households in approximately 180
countries, and we organize more than 350 live events year-
round, attracting over one million fans. TKO is majority
owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR), a global
sports and entertainment company.
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization
(MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 228 million
social media followers. The organization produces more than
40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious
arenas around the world, while broadcasting to over 900
million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s
athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes
representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s
digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the
world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is
part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and is headquartered
in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com
and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat,
Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About WWE®
WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), is an
integrated media organization and the recognized global
leader in sports entertainment. The company consists of a
portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original
content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is
committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television
programming, premium live events, digital media, and
publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in
more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 25 languages through
world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal,
FOX Sports, TNT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-
winning WWE Network includes all premium live events,
scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library
and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In
the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service,
Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network. Additional
information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and
corporate.wwe.com.
